Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1887-06-02
TO NEW YORK BY TUNNEL
SYNGEB-TRAoK TUNNELS UNDER
THE HUDSON.
The Cost Estimated at SlI 700, 900
How WiImingtOBtanv Will ERcacll
NeW York la n E-zr or 'EyVo yVlth-
OuE Using FerFy-BoRts.

| HOW NsiAmtuHtOutaHu Will hkotkcm
New York la n K~zr or TWO yvlth-
out UsIDR Ferry-BoRts.
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The Importance of reaching the central
| portion Of Now York city as u terminal,
| says the, Philadelphia Record, iins long
been reeopnizeh by tho managers of the
! different railroad liues now entering Jersey
| City. The Pennsylvanih railroad MANAGE
| ment has for years given the subjsct serious
| attention and has examined many plans.
A bridge across the Hudson river was seri-
| oilsly discussed, but the project was met
| with so many objections thar It has been
abandoned. The greatest objection TO a
bridge was that It would Interfere with the
| commerce OF New York, and that It would
involve too great an expense 10 obtain such
terminals in New York city as would be
needed.
The New York Central Railroad Com
pany, 1t Is declared, because ofthe attention
It is now paying to passenger travel and
having depot In New York City, is seeur-
| out of that city. Travellers, II Is said, arc
averse to crossing on the ferries, and to
avoid doing so take the New York Central.
There is, In addition to this, considerable
time to be saved IN having terminals III
New York City by avoiding theinnumerable
inconvenience Involved In rehanlllng
baggage and changing the paeer..
gers from the boats to tie cars,
| without taking into consideration the
serious delays ferry-boats are subject 10
and the possibilities OF frequent accidents.
All Of these questions nave been duly
weighed by tue management of tho PENN
| sylvania Railroad Company, and have
quickened it into action to secure some
better means of reaching the great metrop-
oils upon the opposite side of the river,
The plan which has been proposed OF taxi
ing the passengers over the top OF the
Iii M a.
with double decks and over the
top. Of the ferry-house on the New
fork side, and by O bridge to the east
| ern side OF West street, and thence to con-
meet with branches Of the Manhattan
elevated road, is declared to be only tenn
porary arrangement.
This new plan contemplated, and upon
which considerable preliminary work has
been done in the way OF calculations of ex-
pense, is by tunnel from Jersey City
directly under the Hudson river to New
York oity; This plan it is stated, is not an
adoption In any way of the tunnel started
under the Hudson In 1874 1875 by Col. Hos
kins OF New York, and abandoned after the
expenditure OF over 81 600, 600 Although the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company has con-
troll OF the charter under which this tunnel
was to have been constructed, which char
ter gives the owner the right to go under
ground to any portion OF New York or
brooklyn, the old tunnel will not be utilized,
but the underground work will be
constructed upon entirely different prinei-
pies, and instead of there being ono large
tunnel there will be two single track tun-
nels built in the most substantial manner
The expense Of this operation would be
stupendous and more than ono railroad
corporation would like TO undertake. For
this reason IL is proposed to tighten the
burden OF expense by making all railroad
lines entering Jersey City parties to it. This
ha ID
tral, Lackawanna, Erie, Lehigh Valley,
SuBquehanna and Western and, possibly,
the West Shore. Ali Of these, 1t Is stated,
can obtain access to the tunnels by laying
additional tracks In Jersey City. There Is
also possibility OF New York and foreign
capitalists becoming Interested In the plan,
which Is now In the midst OF financial per-
fection.
The purpose of two tunnels is to prevent
all possibility OF collisions, az one Of them
will be used for ingoing and the other for
outgoing trains. The tunnels will be sup
piled with air by large fans, which Will also
serve the purpose OF clearing them of
smoke and unpleasant odors. They will be
lighted by electricity, and telegraph and
telephone wires will be run through them.
Each section or tunnel will be OF brick, so
inches In thickness, laid In hydraulic co.
ment and this will be encased In an Iron
tube quarter Of an inch in thickness. The
inside measurement of each will be l6 feet
clear In width and II feet in hight.
The point of approach to the mouth OF
the tunnels on the Jersey City side will be
near Jersey avenue, about $500 feet from
the river. There will be a gradual descent
Of two feet In the 100 In order to reach the
river bottom. On the New York side the
approach, which is under Washington
Square, will run half the distance to the
water line, with moderate descent, when
there will be sharper descent, in order to
get under the river, at grade of three feet
TO the 100. Engineers who have examined
the location for these tunnels state that
that there will be IL feet Of silt or river
muck on top OF them, and that they could
stand pressure four times as great as this
will be. The tunnels proper will be $500
feet In length, and with the approaches on
both the New York and Jersey City sides
there will be q total length OF n fraction
less than two and one-half miles.
The plan contemplates terminals under
Washington Square In New York city at a
depth OF 10 feet below the earth's surface,
which will occupy an area of over an acre
In space. This will be illuminated by elee-
trtcity and furnished with every convenience
and comfort for travellers. 1t Is further
stated thatthere will be handsome entrances
from the streets, and that considerable
property lie to be bought above ground In
connection with the work. There will be
elevators to the streets above and broad
statrcases, and the elevated railroads will
run branch lines to the depot,
In addition to the large extent to which
the tunnels will be used by the railroad
companies for the convenience OF their
regular passenger business, 1t Is also In.
tended to put on trains exclusively for the
large local travel between New York and
Jersey City. Last year the number Of pas-
sengers taken by Jerry from New York to
Jersey City aud in the other direction
amounted TO so, coo, 900, and of this number
ohe-third were passengers carried for rail-
roads.
The first estimnte made of tho cost of this
work was placed at $40, 900 900, but this
contemplated the purchase OF considerable
more real estate In Now York than the pres
ellt plan does. The latest estimate, and that
nnder which the work will be done, puts
the total cost OF tho operation Mt q III 600 900
divided rs follows: Upon the tunnels, 49,
000,O00; lnnd and streets IN New York for
terminals, $4,000, ,0D0 and for terminals
S6un0,000. The Pennsylvania Railroad
Company In preparing for this new work
| has given considerable attention to excnvil-
| tion and tunnel work, and, It Is reported,
| has had an expert abroad examining all
the important tunnels In England, France
| and Spain. including those under the
Thames and Bristol Channel and tho 81.
| Gothard md Mount Gents tunnels. The
/ following important tunnels In this conn
| try wero also examined; WeOster, ON tho
| Susqushannl Il Albany railroad near hing
hEmtoD, n ", nearly $500 feet long and
| having only u single lack; the Kingswood
tunnel, on The main stem Of the BALTIMORE
u Ohio railroad, 4,100 feet long; Chesa-
/ peako n OhlO lGlllrond Great Bend tunnel,
| 6,50D foot long; Delaware Il Lnckawannn
tunnel ut Bergen hills. 600 feet in length ;
| Pennsylvania railroad tunnel Mt Galliialn
| 5000 feet, and tho Southern Pacific tunnel
nenr Los Angeles, 1000 feet III length. The
Hoosac tunnel was also given considerable
| attention.
It Is stated that betwean 80 600 900 and
"a 100000 OF the money to be raised by tho
| Pennsylvania railroad allotment Of stock
| will be applied In this way. The money
for the remainder of the work can be easily
raised. The time for completing the entire
operation, 1t Is estimated, will be over two
| years.
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| Drs MHc6Iynn WIll Mot do.
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